Handoff of a mobile device from a current access node to a neighboring access node is typically initiated by a base state operating in the current access node. The handoff decision made by the base station is based on current movement of the mobile device. A limitation of this approach requires an external networking node, i.e., the base station, to track location of the mobile device.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,859,654 a service node is provided in a mobile communications network which collects radio link measurement reports which are transmitted to the service node by mobile stations. The mobile stations transmit the measurement reports in encapsulated form, in the form of SMS messages, in order to prevent the interception of the measurement report by the serving base station. The service node is able to perform handover decision algorithms using the measurement reports collected from the mobile stations in order to determine appropriate radio access nodes to be allocated to the mobile stations.
In a mobile telecommunications system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,859,653 in which a plurality of different services can be used, a method for the location management of mobile device in the network which uses the mobile devices is provided. An efficient location management is achieved for the different services using location management strategies which are independent of each other, instead of associating the location management strategy to the carrier. A location management strategy includes a plurality of location management procedures which have been selected to adapt and optimize the strategy of a specific service, and which procedures that shall be used for the location management are decided by which service the user for the time being wants to utilize, or to which type of subscription the user subscribes.
In inter-technology networks the decision on which access node to be handed off to requires a greater number of factors to be taken into consideration. This is particularly true when the wireless mobile device is moving from a WLAN to a cellular network or a cellular network to a WiMAX, for example